Theater square

One of the most beautiful places of Tashkent – Theater square- was formed in the middle of XX century.

It is composed by State academic grand theater of opera and ballet of Alisher Navoi, building of “Tashkent palace” hotel, Universal shopping center and “Shark” (“East”) publishing house. There is a unique fountain, made in the shape of a cotton ball, in the middle of the square.

The theater was built on the place of the former Sunday market in 1940-1947. Many architects offered their drafts of a future theater, but the project of a famous academic A. Shusev was recognized as the most successful one. Shusev’s project became an incarnation of the Eastern architecture. The entrance portal has three arches. The central one is decorated with columns on two sides, which create a solemn appearance of the building. The façade represents a filigree marble carving.

A big auditorium designed for 1500 spectators. A unique crystal chandelier has a shape of tyubiteyka (traditional head wear). There are six more small halls inside the theater: Tashkent, Bukhara, Khorezm, Samarkand, Fergana and Termez halls.    Thus, the Bukhara room represents a fine ganch carving over the mirror surface, made by Bukhara’s craftsmen. Khorezm hall is decorated with carved panels, and its wooden armaments are typical for Khorezm.  Other rooms are similar to an appropriate region. Halls and foyer are painted with pictures from works and poetry by Alisher Navoi. Formers of these paintings are Uzbekistan artists Ch. Akhmarov, A. Tatevosyan and others.

Theater of Alisher Navoi takes a deserving place in cultural and art world. Its repertoire includes operas and ballet performances by famous foreign and gifted uzbek composers.